The First LSAT Practice Exam

As thousands of LSAT takers around the country begin their sojourn to becoming lawyers, the initial hurdle of many looms on the horizon: the first practice test. This LSAT rite of passage has occasioned self-doubt, renewed vows of studying, and countless trips to KFC.

To explain. For students taking courses for the LSAT, the first class typically begins with a practice exam. Note: for those of you self-studying for the LSAT, a practice exam is a good way to begin your studies. This is because the exam gives you a baseline from which to track your progress during your study. However, for many their first practice exam score grows, hydra-like, past this initial purpose and becomes a measure of their self worth, imposing a ceiling of dread in the form of a score they believe will define their progress for the duration of their LSAT study.

So, in an effort to bolster self confidence and inject a modicum of practicality into the process, there are two important items to remember about your first practice exam:

1. You haven't studied for the LSAT yet. It's understandable and even expected that you won't have a great score on your first shot out of the gates.

2. Your score does not define how high you can rise. Blueprint (the LSAT company I own) has an average 10 point increase per student.
However, we also have students who increase their scores by 20 points or more. It all depends on how much effort you put into your studies.

So take your first practice exam with a very large grain of salt. Preferably one from the KFC double down. A chicken sandwich where the chicken is the bread? As glorious as a first practice LSAT score, kept in perspective.

by Jodi Triplett